Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and bananas, mixing well. Add dry ingredients alternating with the 7-Up, finishing with dry ingredients. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely.

Dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Add pineapple, ice cream and 7-Up. Mix thoroughly (in a blender, if necessary) to dissolve ice cream and pour into a deep 9-inch square pan. Chill until mixture begins to set. Lay Twinkies flat side down in two rows of four across the top of chilled gelatin. Push Twinkies into the gelatin until they are just buried, not descended to the bottom of the pan. Chill until fully set. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

I like the flank steak recipe. It'd be cool to make some Floribbean-flavored Jerky.

The twinkies-in-aspic remind me of the congealed desserts from church functions when I was a kid.

Some of my favorite Florida luxuries are homemade citrus marmalades. I make one as a straight-up pink grapefruit flavor, and also a fancified ginger-jalapeno orange marmalade.

Have you ever tried loquat preserves? Pretty good.

I've got a huge Ruby Red grapefruit tree smack in the middle of my front yard. I like to juice 'em and add tangerine juice and drink that for breakfast during the winter. Tangerine marmalade is interesting too.

And if you've never had a pommelo you gotta try it. One good size pommelo can make nearly two quarts of "lemonade." I will sometimes make lemonade tea using a pommelo and a gallon of solar tea ... or even mix the juice and tea 1:1.

Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla extract and pumpkin. Mix. Sift dry ingredients and add to pumpkin mixture. Fold in apples and turn into a greased and floured 10-inch Bundt or angel food cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes. When done turn out on a rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Partially cook bacon and drain. Put into Dutch oven with lentils, salt and 4 cups water. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender but not mushy. Add remaining ingredients and pour into a greased 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake at 250 degrees F for 2 hours, or until most of liquid is absorbed.

Simmer vegetables and spices in a saucepan. At the same time, fry the bacon. When bacon is done, remove from pan and crumble into small pieces. Drain off all but 3 tablespoons of fat, to which add the raw rice. Let rice brown lightly. Add the vegetables and bacon; let simmer over very low heat for 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes to see if it is drying out. If so, add more tomatoes, or some water, or a combination of both.

Combine the first six ingredients; rub over brisket. Place in a crock pot. In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Pour half over the brisket. Set the remaining sauce aside. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with the reserved sauce. Yield: 8 servings

Rinse carrots and put in a sauce pan, pouring enough water in pan to just cover the top of the carrots. Cover carrots and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn heat to low and simmer about 30 minutes til tender when pierced with a fork. When carrots are tender pour off half to three fourths of the water. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Cook pasta according to directions; drain and keep warm. Saute shrimp with garlic in olive oil until the flesh is opaque, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add to pasta and toss with bloody Mary mix. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and grated Parmesan, if desired.

Thaw bread dough according to package directions, cut into 12 pieces. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece of dough to form a 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick oval. In a heavy skillet, heat oil (1/2 inch) over medium high heat. Fry bread ovals 1 to 2 pieces at a time, in shallow hot oil about 45 to 60 seconds per side or till bread ovals are brown. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar over the fried bread. Keep in oven while frying the remainder dough. 6 servings - 12 ears

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking dish. Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, and stir in grits. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 5 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed. Mix in 1/2 the butter and 2 cups cheese until melted. In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage until evenly browned. Drain, and mix into the grits. Beat together the eggs and milk in a bowl, and pour into the skillet. Lightly scramble, then mix into the grits. Pour the grits mixture into the prepared baking dish. Dot with remaining butter, and top with remaining cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.